Review of The Wrestler (2008) by Spangle — 24 Aug 2014
I am not even a wrestling fan, but I loved this. It is truly more than your average sports film, thanks to the brilliant performance by Mickey Rourke as the aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson.
He truly embodies his character, possibly because his career so closely resembles it, since he used to be huge and then fell off the map for a while. However, here, he firmly cements his place in history with a phenomenal acting performance.
Marisa Tomei is also great here (she makes a great stripper, as expected) and Evan Rachel Wood does a great job as Rourke's daughter. The direction from Darren Aronofsky is also characteristically strong.
While I personally prefer "The Fountain" and "Black Swan", "The Wrestler" is a fantastic addition to his filmography. The film is touching, triumphant, and moving, in all the best ways and will have you standing up and cheering by the end.
The soundtrack is also great here with all the tracks from the 80's being a clear throwback to the days when "The Ram" reigned supreme. The cinematography is great and whole look and feel work really well here.
Overall, The Wrestler is a film that succeeds in really every way imaginable thanks to the dynamite pairing of Aronofsky and Rourke.
This review of The Wrestler (2008) was written by Spangle on 24 Aug 2014.
The Wrestler has generally received very positive reviews.
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